Openness in animal research news

This was the title of the article written by Tom Whipple in The Times after visited the Harlan Beagle Breedingfacility near Huntingdon. He watches as 3-week old beagles are taught to sit, stand and offer a paw. As theirtraining progresses they are taught to offer their jugular for a blood sample.

Once upon a time, breeders like these would be in full lockdown to anyone not involved for fear of extremistreprisal.The fact a journalist has been invited in to see the breeding day for these dogs shows how there is achanging culture - both thanks to a huge fall in animal rights extremism and a more transparent approach tooutreach.

Steve Owen, chairman of the Institute of Animal Technology, is less reticent, even though he works with aneven more controversial group of research animals: primates. “I love them,” he said. “When you work on amonkey study for two years, you really get to know them. And at the end, I prefer it is me that puts themdown. Then they are calmer."http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/science/article4034652.ece(article behindpaywall)

Also on Sunday, theBBC1 programme Big Questionsposed the question, is Animal Testing ever justified?Prof Paul Flecknell from Newcastle and Tom Holder from UAR argued with representatives from PETA and BUAV. This section of the programme starts after around 20.40 minutes into the programme.